1 Libidn README -- Important introductory notes.
2 Copyright (C) 2002, 2003 Simon Josefsson
3 See the end for copying conditions.
5 GNU Libidn is an implementation of the Stringprep, Nameprep, Punycode
6 and IDNA specifications, licensed under the LGPL. See ANNOUNCE for an
7 overview, and libidn.{info,ps,pdf} for the manual.
9 Things left to do below. If you like to start working on anything,
10 please let me know so work duplication can be avoided.
12 - Optimize stringprep, the table searching is slow (but does it
13 matter?). Optimize for speed? The stringprep tables can be
14 compressed _alot_ (most map entries are simply zeroes).
15 - Port applications to use libidn.
16 - Include more stringprep profiles.
18 - Rename package? Stringprep useful outside of IDN. Separating
19 into libstringprep + libidn was considered, but libidn would
20 be so small it would be wasteful to create it. libunicodenames?
22 Anticipated Frequently Asked Questions:
24 Q#1: Why doesn't Libidn use a separate library for the Unicode
27 A#1: Separate libraries (Glib, QT, libiconv) seldom mark the Unicode
28 tables with the corresponding Unicode version they implement, nor
29 do they provide a interface where a specific version can be
30 requested. This violates the stringprep specification which
31 requires that a specific version is used. Also, some of these
32 third party libraries depend on non-portable behavior
35 Q#2: Why do Libidn include several stringprep profiles? They waste space!
37 A#2: The stringprep profiles included are derived from the generic
38 stringprep tables, and doesn't waste more than say a few hundred
39 bytes (see profiles.c). The Unicode normalization tables and the
40 generic stringprep tables are roughly equivalent in size,
41 although the latter tables can surely be compressed much further.
43 Q#3: I thought GNU was encouraging libraries to be licensed under the GPL?
45 A#3: The reasoning for this was for libraries that provide unique
46 functionality to encourage more free programs. Since there are
47 several IDN libraries out there, using the GPL for Libidn would
48 only encourage people not to use Libidn which would not help the
49 spread of free software.
51 Q#4: How do I add a new stringprep profile?
53 A#4: Add the profile definition to profiles.c, create a new
54 stringprep_PROFILENAME.h header file, and add it to
55 Makefile.am. For the texinfo documentation document the header in
56 libidn.texi and for the GTK-DOC manual, add it to
57 reference/libidn-docs.sgml and document the header definitions in
58 reference/dummy.c. If you want to add self tests, include the
59 header file in internal.h and add the self tests (easiest through
60 tst_stringprep.c). Mention it in NEWS.
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63 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
64 are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
65 notice and this notice are preserved.